Stock Market Today: Jobs Data Delivers Blow to Stocks
The September jobs report confirmed the economy has more slowing to do before the Fed can stop hiking rates.
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Want to add more newsletters?
Delivered daily
Kiplinger Today
Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more delivered daily. Smart money moves start here.
Sent five days a week
Kiplinger A Step Ahead
Get practical help to make better financial decisions in your everyday life, from spending to savings on top deals.
Delivered daily
Kiplinger Closing Bell
Get today's biggest financial and investing headlines delivered to your inbox every day the U.S. stock market is open.
Sent twice a week
Kiplinger Adviser Intel
Financial pros across the country share best practices and fresh tactics to preserve and grow your wealth.
Delivered weekly
Kiplinger Tax Tips
Trim your federal and state tax bills with practical tax-planning and tax-cutting strategies.
Sent twice a week
Kiplinger Retirement Tips
Your twice-a-week guide to planning and enjoying a financially secure and richly rewarding retirement
Sent bimonthly.
Kiplinger Adviser Angle
Insights for advisers, wealth managers and other financial professionals.
Sent twice a week
Kiplinger Investing Weekly
Your twice-a-week roundup of promising stocks, funds, companies and industries you should consider, ones you should avoid, and why.
Sent weekly for six weeks
Kiplinger Invest for Retirement
Your step-by-step six-part series on how to invest for retirement, from devising a successful strategy to exactly which investments to choose.
Stocks finished the week far from where they started as Friday's jobs data all but confirmed that the Federal Reserve still has a long way to go to slow the economy.
Earlier today, data from the Labor Department showed the U.S. added 263,000 jobs in September. While this marked a 17-month low in terms of the number of jobs added, it was still higher than economists were expecting. What's more, the unemployment rate dipped to a 50-year low of 3.5%.
Wall Street's top minds were quick to weigh in on the implications of the September jobs report, including Rick Rieder, BlackRock's chief investment officer of global fixed income. "The Fed has made it clear that to achieve an inflation reduction from today's excessively high, and stubbornly sticky, levels of inflation; that economic and employment demand will probably have to decline," Rieder says. "That was not the case yet with today's nonfarm payroll data printing at 263,000 jobs gained, and with service sector employment in particular showing strength, it still doesn't seem anywhere close enough to where the Fed can take its foot off the tightening brake."
From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance
Become a smarter, better informed investor. Subscribe from just $107.88 $24.99, plus get up to 4 Special Issues
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
And that last point –- the one that suggests the Fed will continue to hike rates – is what sparked a major selloff in stocks today. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.1% to 29,296, the S&P 500 Index shed 2.8% to 3,639, and the Nasdaq Composite gave back 3.8% to 10,652. Still, all three major market indexes were higher on a weekly basis thanks to the monster gains they scored Monday and Tuesday.
Other news in the stock market today:
- The small-cap Russell 2000 spiraled 2.9% to 1,702.
- U.S. crude futures skyrocketed 4.7% to $92.64 per barrel, bringing their weekly gain to 16.5% thanks to the decision by OPEC+ to cut oil production.
- Gold futures fell 0.7% to $1,709.30 an ounce.
- Bitcoin fell 2.7% to 19,463.71 (to $20,012.81). (Bitcoin trades 24 hours a day; prices reported here are as of 4 p.m.)
A Positive Catalyst for Pot Stocks
Similar to the broader equities market, weed stocks went on a roller-coaster ride this week amid an onslaught of headlines. Most notable among this week's cannabis news was Thursday's move by President Joe Biden to pardon thousands of individuals who had been convicted at the federal level for "simple marijuana possession." But perhaps more importantly, Biden said he has directed the attorney general as well as the secretary of Health and Human Services to review how marijuana is classified under the federal law.
"While the president cannot in fact deschedule/reschedule cannabis unilaterally with an executive order, he can order executive agencies to consider doing so," says Jefferies analyst Owen Bennett. And this, Bennett adds, creates "a path to federal rescheduling without congressional action."
For investors, a rescheduling of marijuana from its current Schedule 1 status could be a positive catalyst for pot stocks. Here, we take a closer look at three such names that could climb on the potential for federal policy changes down the road.
-
Dow Adds 1,206 Points to Top 50,000: Stock Market TodayThe S&P 500 and Nasdaq also had strong finishes to a volatile week, with beaten-down tech stocks outperforming.
-
Ask the Tax Editor: Federal Income Tax DeductionsAsk the Editor In this week's Ask the Editor Q&A, Joy Taylor answers questions on federal income tax deductions
-
States With No-Fault Car Insurance Laws (and How No-Fault Car Insurance Works)A breakdown of the confusing rules around no-fault car insurance in every state where it exists.
-
Dow Adds 1,206 Points to Top 50,000: Stock Market Today
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also had strong finishes to a volatile week, with beaten-down tech stocks outperforming.
-
Stocks Sink With Alphabet, Bitcoin: Stock Market TodayA dismal round of jobs data did little to lift sentiment on Thursday.
-
Dow Leads in Mixed Session on Amgen Earnings: Stock Market TodayThe rest of Wall Street struggled as Advanced Micro Devices earnings caused a chip-stock sell-off.
-
Nasdaq Slides 1.4% on Big Tech Questions: Stock Market TodayPalantir Technologies proves at least one publicly traded company can spend a lot of money on AI and make a lot of money on AI.
-
Fed Vibes Lift Stocks, Dow Up 515 Points: Stock Market TodayIncoming economic data, including the January jobs report, has been delayed again by another federal government shutdown.
-
Stocks Close Down as Gold, Silver Spiral: Stock Market TodayA "long-overdue correction" temporarily halted a massive rally in gold and silver, while the Dow took a hit from negative reactions to blue-chip earnings.
-
The New Fed Chair Was Announced: What You Need to KnowPresident Donald Trump announced Kevin Warsh as his selection for the next chair of the Federal Reserve, who will replace Jerome Powell.
-
If You'd Put $1,000 Into AMD Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have TodayAdvanced Micro Devices stock is soaring thanks to AI, but as a buy-and-hold bet, it's been a market laggard.
